Other Risk of psychosis?

[Ecdysis]

I've had CPTSD from childhood trauma for as long as I can remember.

Getting re-traumatised a few years ago plus going into menopause (which has completely f*cked with my brain chemistry) has sent me into a really deep depression, for the first time in my life.

I'm concerned that potential psychosis could enter the scene too.

Ever since my depression has been beyond awful, I've wanted to be dead and have wanted reality to "go away".

Reality just seems like a painful burden and something that I'd be more than glad to escape.

I've always had massive dissociation going on as a coping mechanism since childhood.

I'm worried my brain my choose to dissociate so hard that it loses its grip on reality and that that will feel like a blessed relief, because reality has stopped feeling like something I'm at home in or feel comfortable in.

How can I tell if the risk of psychosis is iminent?

My next pdoc appt isn't for another 3 weeks.

 

[tofubreadcoriander]

I get everything that you wrote. My diagnosis is that of C-PTSD, extreme anxiety and dissociation. I'm on a mood stabilizer and an anti psychotic. Unless you get the symptoms of psychosis (delusional thinking etc.) I wouldn't worry too much about it. Though, to rule out all concerns, it would be best to consult with a psychiatrist.

N.B. there're resources out there that claim that people with psychosis see their symptoms go away when the underlying trauma gets resolved; perhaps going to a trauma therapist might also be a viable option until your next doctor appointment?

 

[arfie]

gentle empathy, ecdysis. as one who has had several hospital league psychotic breaks, and having (theoretically) some clues on what ^it^ feels like, the worry still haunts me viciously. the decades of psychotherapy befitting to those hospital league psychoses (pl) haven't provided the clarity i still wish for. where's my psychosis for dummies book?

in my own case, peri-menopause was rough, but full menopause seems to have eased a great many of my meanest symptoms. removing the monthly hormone fluctuations from the equation seems to have simplified the equation significantly.

radical acceptance and mindfulness are the most trusted tool for monitoring my psychic stability. when my daily inventory says something is out of kilter, i look for ways to balance the symptoms before they have time to escalate.

 

[Ecdysis]

I'll talk to my pdoc about it at my next appt.

I think, if it's psychosis symptoms, then I'm still at the very early/ slight phase... It feels like I can smell smoke, but I can't see the actual fire yet, if that makes sense as a metaphor.

I'm living on my own with hardly any support system at the moment, so I really can't afford to slip into psychosis and lose my grip on reality.

So, I need to nip it in the bud, if that's what's going on.

I've got Quetiapine as a prn med - which is an anti-psychotic. I'll ask my pdoc about taking it regularly for a while.